In the past, scholars tended to believe that the internet was an effective tool to challenge authoritarian regimes and facilitate the development of civil society. However, as an expert that has been investigating the issue for a number of years, I disagree with this widely held belief.

When oppositions win by significant margin, the tendency is for sweeping changes. The previous regime's leaders are investigated, arrested and prosecuted for corruption. Policies are thrown out the window and new constitutions are drafted. Myanmar has taken a different path.

In 1997, after trial proceedings lasting over three years, Berlin’s High Criminal Court convicted four individuals of murdering Iranian dissidents in a Berlin restaurant—and more significantly—explicitly found the murders were ordered at the highest levels of government in Tehran. The historic judgment culminated in an unprecedented diplomatic shift between Iran ...

The struggle to establish and maintain stable democracies continues the world over. As I have said many times before, no one ever said democracy is easy or simple, but it provides the best opportunities for freedom and prosperity (also see Churchill’s view of democracy in my “about the author” script). ...

2013 has been a year fraught with many challenges for democracy. One could circle the globe and find democratic struggles in every corner of it- from Maldives to Thailand, in Egypt and Iran, Venezuela to Burma, and of course the United States (I still shudder when thinking about the October ...

For a large number of refugees fleeing Syria, life in the place they end up is no less a struggle.
Many Syrians looking to escape the ravages of war in their home country have made their way to Bulgaria (via Turkey) — the country I now call home. The problem is ...

In my update on Thailand and Maldives a few weeks ago, both countries were on the precipice of making decisions that would determine the direction of their democracies, or lack thereof. Let’s see how things turned out.
Thailand
On Monday, Nov. 11, 2013, Thailand’s senate made a ...

Sadly, the adage “the more things change the more they stay the same” is perfectly to describe struggles in keeping strong democracy in Asia. Upon returning from hiatus, I started looking for story ideas and ran across some “updates” to items I had covered earlier this year. But in reality ...

Elected President of Venezuela following Hugo Chávez’s death from cancer in March, Nicolás Maduro, a former bus driver who was Mr. Chávez’s foreign minister, has had a rocky start leading the country. Allegations of ballot-tampering, appointing corrupt officials to high-level government positions, and foreign policy missteps have created the impression that ...

The wave of protests sweeping all corners of the world has reached Thailand. What’s more: Thailand appears as the latest disturbing example of leaders imposing their will on countries even when not officially in power.
Thaksin Shinawatra served as prime minister of the Asian nation from 2001-06, when he was ousted ...

Two weeks after Mohamed Morsi was ousted as the leader of Egypt, chaos still reigns. According to state-run media, seven people died on Monday, July 15, in violent skirmishes between Morsi supporters and opponents. An interim government is trying to instill some sense of ruling stability, but the widely ...

Apparently President Obama has received some criticism over taking the “easy road” in his visit to Africa earlier this week. Instead of drawing attention to more troubled spots on the continent such as Nigeria or Kenya, he choose to visit the relatively safe, stable, and democratically potent (at least in ...